After the Fall
by InvestInLove
Summary: Set directly after 2x05. Bo comes back to her apartment to find Lauren gone and in danger. Can she find her before it's too late? Contains some violence.


**AN: **This continues right after 2x05 ends. The title may be temporary. This will contain some violence in later chapters.

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><p>Bo awakened to the sound of a cell phone blaring. She quickly silenced it, hoping it hadn't woken up Kenzi or Lauren.<p>

"Hello?" She said groggily, and was immediately met with Dyson's urgent voice. There had been a Fae-related crime and he wanted her to meet him at the scene. She agreed and hung up the phone, wishing he had waited just a little later to call. She had laid awake for most of the night, trying to figure out what to do about Lauren. She refused to let her be treated the way the Ash had been treating her.

She went to wake up Kenzi, passing by a sleeping Lauren. Normally, she would have asked Lauren to come along, but was afraid that the Ash had people out searching for her, and she refused to take that chance. She paused for a second to watch her, sleeping peacefully on the couch. She was safe, for the time being. Bo just hoped she would stay that way until she could talk to the Ash herself.

"Too early." Kenzi whined when Bo shook her awake.

"Dyson need us." Bo told hers quietly. "But you can stay here and keep Lauren company if you really don't want to go."

Kenzi bolted up in bed. "Give me five minutes." She knew Kenzi wasn't the biggest fan of Lauren, but she tried to ignore it as long as Kenzi didn't make too many rude comments.

She wrote Lauren a note while she waited for Kenzi to get ready, just in case she woke up while they were gone. She hoped they wouldn't have to stay out too long. She wasn't particularly comfortable leaving Lauren alone with the current state of things.

For the most part, Lauren had always seemed like a strong person, or at least a person who could hold her own. When she had been informed that the Ash 'owned' her, she had began to look at her in a different light. She was surprised how Lauren had seemed to accept the lack of freedom, but maybe she had just realized that she didn't have a choice.

Kenzi walked out, interrupting her thoughts, not happy, but ready to leave.

Bo thought about waking Lauren, just to make sure she was okay, but she had just seemed so exhausted. Bo was pretty sure that she had hardly slept ever since the old Ash got hurt, so she decided against it.

She was surprised to find that the address Dyson gave her was in the middle of a nice, upper class neighborhood. A wealthy, middle aged couple had been killed and it looked like a Fae attack.

Bo couldn't concentrate on the crime scene, or anything Dyson was saying. Her mind kept wandering back to Lauren. "Are you okay?" He finally asked.

"Just distracted." She said.

"She's worried about the Good Doctor." Kenzi explained. It was her latest nickname for Lauren, because, she reminded her of Maura Isles. Bo didn't really see the resemblance.

"You're going to get in trouble for hiding her." Dyson said

"Do you really think I care about the Ash?" She snapped back.

"I know you don't, but if you care about Lauren, you'd make her go back."

"And why is that?" Bo asked defensively.

"The longer she's gone, the more trouble she's going to be in when she goes back. This new Ash is very… strict." He looked nervous, Bo noticed. Could he actually be worried for Lauren's safety? He never treated Lauren with respect, but when Bo had tried to confront him about it, he hadn't given her a straight answer.

"You don't think they'll hurt her, do you?" Bo asked, her heart pounding in her ears at the thought of the Ash or any of his men hurting Lauren.

Dyson gave her a long look, which basically gave her the answer she had been dreading.

"I have to go!" She immediately said. "Kenzi, let's go!" She was in a complete panic as she went to the car.

"Where's the fire?" Kenzi complained as she struggled to keep up with Bo.

Bo didn't answer, just put the car in a drive and sped off as quickly as she could, hoping she was not too late.

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><p>Lauren woke up to a quiet house, forgetting for a minute where she was. "Bo?" She called out, but got no answer<em>. Maybe she's still sleeping<em>, Lauren thought.

She got up and saw the note sitting on the table, saying that Bo and Kenzi were both gone. She felt a little uncomfortable in Bo's house alone, but she also didn't want to be alone with her thoughts.

She was afraid of what would happen if she went back, but she was sure that they would somehow make her go back anyway. She thought maybe if she went back voluntarily, it wouldn't be as bad, but Bo talked her out of it every time she tried.

She wished that Bo would understand the way her world worked, that the Ash really had the right to treat her however he wanted. She hated it sometimes, especially with the new Ash, but she had accepted the reality that she didn't have a choice. However, that didn't change the fact that she felt so ashamed of herself after her and Bo's first run-in with the Ash. She hated appearing so weak in front of Bo, who was by far the most strong and independent person she knew.

She would never forget the look of horror that Bo gave her when she sank to her knees in front of the Ash. She hated herself in that moment. She didn't want Bo to see her that way: Weak, submissive. That wasn't how she wanted to be, especially in front of Bo.

But the way she had stood up for her… she couldn't help but feel grateful. No one, Fae or human, had ever defended her. She only wished the things Bo was saying were true.

She wanted to answer all the questions Bo had about her complicated life and even more complicated past. She knew Bo was curious, and ever since Bo had looked in her eyes and said, 'nobody owns you' she wanted to tell her everything.

There was a knock on the door and Lauren got up to answer it, assuming that it was Bo and Kenzi returning. She didn't know why Bo wouldn't use her key, but she didn't think too much of it.

She had decided that now would be the time she would finally be honest with her- about everything. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the long talk ahead of her. She was nervous, but ready to talk- until she opened the door and saw that it wasn't Bo. It was the Ash, and two of his men.


End file.
